Controlling an access point connection

ABSTRACT

In systems and methods of controlling a connection between a wireless device and an access point, it is determined that a first wireless device is not authorized to connect to an access point of a first data network. A message is transferred to a second wireless device by a second data network requesting permission for the first wireless device to connect to the access point. A message can be received from the second wireless device granting the first wireless device permission to connect to the access point.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Wireless devices can access data networks through wired or wirelessconnections. Such network connections are typically made through anaccess point, which can be wired, wireless, or a combination thereof.While a wide variety of information is available on data networks,especially the Internet, in some cases a user may wish to restrictaccess to certain information, or to certain access points. As oneexample, a parent or guardian may desire to restrict data access of achild to certain information, content, web sites, and the like.

Users can restrict the data access of a wireless device at an accesspoint. For example, a parent can instruct a home access point, such as aWiFi router, to restrict network access of a designated wireless device,such as a child's computer. In this scenario, network accessrestrictions are imposed at the router, as opposed to, for example, bysoftware on the wireless device, such as so-called parental controlsoftware which places restrictions on device-resident browser software.However, if the wireless device were to connect to an access point whichdid not impose data access restrictions, for example, a WiFi router at afriend's house, the wireless device would have unrestricted access toany data or information from a data network.

Overview

In operation, it is determined that a first wireless device is notauthorized to connect to an access point of a first data network. Amessage is transferred to a second wireless device by a second datanetwork requesting permission for the first wireless device to connectto the access point. A message can be received from the second wirelessdevice granting the first wireless device permission to connect to theaccess point. In an embodiment, a message can be from the first wirelessdevice at a permissions node of the second data network to determinewhether the first wireless device is authorized to connect to the accesspoint, and the determination as to whether the first wireless device isauthorized to connect to the access point can be made at the permissionsnode.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication system to control aconnection between a wireless device and an access point.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method of controlling a connectionbetween a wireless device and an access point.

FIG. 3 illustrates a data flow diagram of an exemplary method ofcontrolling a connection between a wireless device and an access point.

FIG. 4 illustrates another exemplary method of controlling a connectionbetween a wireless device and an access point.

FIG. 5 illustrates another exemplary method of controlling a connectionbetween a wireless device and an access point.

FIG. 6 illustrates another data flow diagram of an exemplary method ofcontrolling a connection between a wireless device and an access point.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary processing node.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In systems and methods of controlling a connection between a wirelessdevice and an access point, it is determined that a first wirelessdevice is not authorized to connect to an access point of a first datanetwork. The determination can be made at a network node and/or at thefirst wireless device. A message is transferred to a second wirelessdevice by a second data network requesting permission for the firstwireless device to connect to the access point. A message can bereceived from the second wireless device granting the first wirelessdevice permission to connect to the access point. Access permissions ofthe first wireless device can be stored at a network node and/or at thefirst wireless device.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication system 100 to control aconnection between a wireless device and an access point. Communicationsystem 100 comprises wireless devices 102 and 104, access point 106,data network 108, access nodes 110 and 114, communication network 112,communication node 116, and permissions node 118. Examples of wirelessdevice 102, 104 can include a cell phone, a smart phone, a computingplatform such as a laptop, palmtop, or tablet, a personal digitalassistant, an internet access device, or other device capable ofwireless communication, including combinations thereof.

Wireless device 102 is in communication with access point 106 throughcommunication link 122, and with access node 110 through communicationlink 124. Wireless device 104 is in communication with access node 114through communication link 130. Access point 106 can providecommunications to wireless device 102. Examples of access point 106include wireless devices employing wireless fidelity (WiFi), Bluetooth,or similar communication protocols, and wired devices such as a wiredrouter or similar device, including combinations thereof. Access point106 is in communication with data network 108 through communication link120, and access point 106 can facilitate communication between wirelessdevice 102 and data network 108.

Access nodes 110, 114 are network nodes capable of providing wirelesscommunications to wireless devices 102, 104, and can be, for example, abase transceiver station or an eNodeB device. Access nodes 110 and 114are in communication with communication network 112 throughcommunication links 126 and 128, respectively.

Data network 108 and communication network 112 can be wired and/orwireless communication networks, and can comprise processing nodes,routers, gateways, and physical and/or wireless data links for carryingdata among various network elements, including combinations thereof, andcan include a local area network, a wide area network, and aninternetwork (including the Internet). Wired network protocols that maybe utilized by data network 108 and communication network 112 compriseEthernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Local Talk (such as CarrierSense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance), Token Ring, FiberDistributed Data Interface (FDDI), and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM).Data network 108 and communication network 112 may also comprise awireless network, including base stations, wireless communication nodes,telephony switches, internet routers, network gateways, computersystems, communication links, or some other type of communicationequipment, and combinations thereof. Wireless network protocols maycomprise code division multiple access (CDMA) 1×RTT, Global System forMobile communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Evolution Data Optimized(EV-DO), EV-DO rev. A, Third Generation Partnership Project Long TermEvolution (3GPP LTE), and Worldwide Interoperability for MicrowaveAccess (WiMAX).

Communication network 112 is in communication with communication node116 through communication link 132 and with permissions node 118 throughcommunication link 134. Communication node 116 can control the setup andmaintenance of a communication session over communication network 112 bywireless device 102, 104. Communication node 112 can comprise a mobileswitching center (MSC), a dispatch call controller (DCC), a mobilitymanagement entity (MME), or other similar network node. Permissions node118 is configured to permit management of network access permissions ofa wireless device and can comprise, for example, a dedicated networknode, or the functionality of permissions node 118 can be included inanother network node such as a home location register (HLR), a homesubscriber server (HSS), an authentication, authorization and accountingnode (AAA), or the like.

Communication links 120, 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132 and 134 can bewired or wireless communication links. Wired communication links can be,for example, twisted pair cable, coaxial cable or fiber optic cable, orcombinations thereof. Wireless communication links can be a radiofrequency, microwave, infrared, or other similar signal, and can use asuitable communication protocol, for example, Global System for Mobiletelecommunications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA),Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), or Long TermEvolution (LTE), or combinations thereof. Other wireless protocols canalso be used.

Other network elements may be present in the communication system 100 tofacilitate wireless communication but are omitted for clarity, such asbase stations, base station controllers, gateways, mobile switchingcenters, dispatch application processors, and location registers such asa home location register or visitor location register. Furthermore,other network elements may be present to facilitate communicationbetween access point 106 and data network 108, and among access nodes110, 114, communication network 112, communication node 116, andpermissions node 118, which are omitted for clarity, includingadditional processing nodes, routers, gateways, and physical and/orwireless data links for carrying data among the various networkelements.

In operation, a determination is made that wireless device 102 is notauthorized to connect to access point 106, which can facilitatecommunication between wireless device 102 and a first network, such asdata network 108. A message is transferred through a second network,such as communication network 112, to wireless device 104 to requestpermission for wireless device 102 to connect to access point 106.Wireless device 104 can response to the permission request by grantingpermission for wireless device 102 to connect with access point 106.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method 200 of controlling a connectionbetween a wireless device and an access point. In operation 202, awireless device, such as wireless device 102, identifies an accesspoint, such as access point 106. For example, wireless device 102 can becapable of scanning for access points within a range and identifying adetected access point.

When access point 106 is identified, it is determined whether wirelessdevice 102 is authorized to connect to access point 106 (operation 204).For example, wireless device 102 can send an identification of accesspoint 106 to permissions node 118 via access node 110 and communicationnetwork 112, and permissions node 118 can then determine whetherwireless device 102 is authorized to connect to access point 106. Whenwireless device 102 is authorized to connect to access point 106(operation 204—YES), permissions node 118 sends an indication thatwireless device 102 is authorized, and wireless device 102 can connectto access point 106 (operation 210). As another example, wireless device102 can compare an identification of access point 106 to a list ofauthorized access points (such as a “white list” or the like) and candetermine whether access point 106 is on the list of authorized accesspoints. When wireless device 102 is authorized to connect to accesspoint 106 (operation 204—YES), wireless device 102 can proceed toconnect to access point 106 (operation 210), and access point 106 canthen facilitate communication between wireless device 102 and datanetwork 108.

When wireless device 102 is not authorized to connect to access point106 (operation 204—NO), then a message is transferred to wireless device104 through communication network 112 and access node 114 notifyingwireless device 104 that wireless device 102 is seeking to connect toaccess point 106, and further requesting permission for wireless device102 to connect to access point 106. Wireless device 104 is associatedwith the authority to grant or revoke permission for wireless device 102to connect with access point 106. For example, wireless device 104 maybe associated with a parent, and wireless device 102 may be associatedwith a child, thus allowing the parent to set access controls for thechild's wireless device 102. Wireless device 104 can also be associatedwith a business owner or a manager, can wireless device 102 can beassociated with an employee or contractor for whom access to an accesspoint can be granted or revoked by the business owner or manager, forexample, to control access to a secure data network. Other examples arealso possible. In an embodiment, the message received by wireless device104 comprises information identifying the access point 106, such as anSSID, a MAC ID, or other identifier, a description of access point 106(such as a description of a physical location of access point 106), anda date and/or time indication of when wireless device 102 firstinteracted with access point 106. In an embodiment, the transferredmessage can originate from wireless device 102, or the transferredmessage can originate from permissions node 118.

Based on the transferred message, wireless device 104 may provide aresponse to permissions node 118 granting or denying permission forwireless device 102 to connect with access point 106 (operation 208).When the response denies the requested permission, permissions node 118can notify wireless device 102, and wireless device 102 will not bepermitted to connect with access point 106. When the response grants therequested permission, permissions node 118 can then send a message towireless device 110 indicating that permission to connect to accesspoint 106 has been granted, and wireless device 106 can then proceed toconnect to access point 106 (operation 210).

FIG. 3 illustrates a data flow diagram of an exemplary method ofcontrolling a connection between a wireless device and an access point.In an embodiment, wireless device 102 sends an identification request302 to access point 106, and access point 106 responds with identifyinginformation 304. It is then determined whether wireless device 102 isauthorized to connect with access point 106 based on the identifyinginformation.

Message 306 can serve a variety of functions. In an embodiment, wirelessdevice 102 can send the identifying information of access point 106 topermissions node 118 (as message 306), and permissions node 118 can thendetermine whether wireless device 102 is authorized to connect to accesspoint 106. In another embodiment, wireless device 102 can compare theidentifying information of access point 106 to a list of authorizedaccess points (such as a “white list” or the like) and can determinewhether access point 106 is on the list of authorized access points.When wireless device 102 is not authorized to connect with access point106, wireless device 102 can send an authorization request (as message306) to permissions node 118.

Permissions node can send a notification (308) to wireless device 104that wireless device 102 is seeking to connect to access point 106, andfurther requesting permission for wireless device 102 to connect toaccess point 106. Wireless device 104, having the authority to grant orrevoke permission for wireless device 102 to connect with access point106, can send message 310 indicating the granting (or denying) ofauthorization for wireless device 102 to connect with access point 106.When wireless device 104 grants the authorization, permissions node 118can send message 312 to wireless device 110 indicating that permissionto connect to access point 106 has been granted. Wireless device 106 cansend connection request 314 to access point 106 upon receiving theindication that the connection is permitted, whereupon a connection 316can be established between wireless device 102 and access point 106, andaccess point 106 can facilitate communication 318 with data network 108.

FIG. 4 illustrates another exemplary method 400 of controlling aconnection between a wireless device and an access point. In operation402, wireless device 102 is activated. Operation 402 can comprise, forexample, the initial provisioning of wireless device 102 upon purchaseand activation, or the powering on of wireless device 102, or thebringing of wireless device 102 out of a “sleep” or “idle” state, or theinitialization of software resident on wireless device 102. Otherexamples are also possible. In operation 404, an indication is providedthat access permissions are enforced upon wireless device 102. Forexample, an indication can be set on wireless device 102, such as a flagin memory or other such indication, that wireless device 102 is subjectto access controls. As another example, an indication that wirelessdevice 102 is subject to access controls can be set in a network node,such as permissions node 118.

Following activation of wireless device 102, the permitted accesscontrols of wireless device 102 are periodically checked to determine ifany changes have been made, for example, by wireless device 104, and ifchanges have been made, then relevant indications of the accesspermissions of wireless device 102 can be updated (operation 406). Forexample, wireless device 102 may include a permissions list or similarindications of access points to which it is authorized to connect, whichcan be updated if any modifications have been made to the permissions.Similarly, indications of authorized access points may be periodicallychecked and updated in permissions node 118.

In operation 408, wireless device 102 attempts to connect to accesspoint 106. Because there is an indication that access permissions areenforced on wireless device 102, it is determined whether wirelessdevice 102 is authorized to connect with access point 106 (operation410). When the connection is permitted (operation 410-YES), thenwireless device 102 can proceed to connect with access point 106(operation 412).

When the connection is not permitted (operation 410—NO), then it can bedetermined as to whether the access permissions of wireless device 102have been modified (operation 414). For example, a request forpermission to connect with access point 106 can be sent to wirelessdevice 104, and wireless device 104 may respond with a message grantingpermission for wireless device 102 to connect with access point 106.When wireless device 104 does not grant permission for wireless device102 to connect with access point 106 or otherwise modify the accesspermissions of wireless device 102 (operation 414—NO), then accesspermission is denied to wireless device 102, and an indication thatwireless device 102 is not permitted to connect with access point 106can be provided to wireless device 102.

When wireless device 104 does grant permission for wireless device 102to connect with access point 106 (operation 414—YES), then thepermission indications for wireless device 102 can be updated (operation406). The access permissions for wireless device can be updated onwireless device 102, or at permissions node 118. The authorization forwireless device 102 to connect with access point 106 can be limited orunlimited. Possible limitations on the grant of access permissioninclude a limitation on access to a particular date or time period, orto a certain data rate, or to a certain total amount of data transferredto or from wireless device 102. Limitations can also be imposed based onan application running on wireless device 102, or a type of datatransferred to or from wireless device 102, such as a type of data flow,or a quality of service (QoS) designation. Other limitations, as well ascombinations of the foregoing, are also possible.

When the access permissions of wireless device 102 are updated to permitwireless device 102 to connect with access point 106, then when wirelessdevice 102 attempts to connect with access point 106 (operation 408),the connection will be permitted (operation 410—YES) and wireless devicecan then proceed to connect with access point 106 (operation 412).

FIG. 5 illustrates another exemplary method 500 of controlling aconnection between a wireless device and an access point. In operation502, access permissions of wireless device 102 are updated. For example,wireless device 104 can periodically change the access permissions ofwireless device 102, and the updated permissions can be provided to andstored at permissions node 118 and/or wireless device 102.

In operation 504, wireless device 102 detects and identifies accesspoints, such as access point 106, and a determination is made as towhether wireless device 102 is authorized to connect to access point 106(operation 506). The determination can be made at permissions node 118based on an identification of access point 106, or the determination canbe made at wireless device 102 and can be provided to permissions node118. When wireless device 102 is permitted to connect with access point106 (operation 506—YES), then wireless device 102 proceeds to establisha connection with access point 106 (operation 514).

When wireless device 102 is not permitted to connect with access point106 (operation 506—NO), a message is sent to wireless device 104requesting permission for wireless device 102 to connect with accesspoint 106 (operation 508). When the permission request message isreceived by wireless device 104 (operation 510), wireless device 104 canprovide an indication as to whether permission is granted or postponed.(Wireless device 104 can also deny permission to wireless device 102 toconnect with access point 106, although this is not illustrated in FIG.5 for brevity.) When wireless device 104 grants permission for wirelessdevice 102 to connect with access point 106 (operation 512—GRANTED), amessage is sent to permissions node 118 indicating the grant ofpermission. As described above, the grant of permission can beunlimited, or various parameters of the granted permission can belimited. When permission is granted by wireless device 104, wirelessdevice 102 can proceed to establish a connection with access point 106(operation 514).

When wireless device 104 postpones the granting of permission (operation512—POSTPONED), wireless device 102 may not proceed to connect withaccess point 106. Wireless device 104 may be reminded about the pendingpermission request at a later time. For example, a reminder message canbe sent by, for example, permissions node 118, when wireless device 104has not responded within a predetermined period of time of the receiptof the permission request. Additionally or alternatively, wirelessdevice 104 may present a reminder when a response has not been input towireless device 104 within a predetermined period of time from thereceipt of the permission request. Additionally or alternatively, whenwireless device 104 does not respond within a predetermined period oftime, a default behavior can be provided, such as to automatically denyor grant access permission to wireless device 102 when wireless device104 fails to respond within a predetermined period of time. Otherreminder and default embodiments are also possible. The ability ofwireless device 104 to postpone the granting or denying of permission towireless device 102 can allow wireless device 104 additional time todecide whether to grant or deny the requested permission. For example, auser of wireless device 104 may contact a user of wireless device 102 tolearn more about the requested permission, such as where wireless device102 is located, the nature of the permission request, what informationis desired by wireless device 102 from data network 108, and the like.Wireless device 104 can later grant or deny permission for wirelessdevice 102 to connect with access point 106.

FIG. 6 illustrates another data flow diagram of an exemplary method ofcontrolling a connection between a wireless device and an access point.Wireless device 102 can request updated permissions (602) frompermissions node 118, which can be provided (604) by permissions node118 to wireless device 102 and stored on wireless device 102, as well ason permissions node 118. Wireless device 102 can detect access pointssuch as access point 106 and send an identification request 606 toaccess point 106, which responds with identifying information 608. In anembodiment, based on the identifying information from access point 106,wireless device 102 can determine that wireless device 102 does not havepermission to connect with access point 106. In an embodiment,permissions node 118 can make the determination and can notify wirelessdevice 102 that wireless device 102 does not have permission to connectwith access point 106.

Wireless device 102 can send a permission request (610) to wirelessdevice 104. As described above, permission request (610) can also besent from wireless device 102 to permissions node 118, and permissionsnode 118 can send a permission request to wireless device 104. Wirelessdevice 104 may postpone the granting or denying of permission towireless device 102, and wireless device can provide a postponementindication (612) to permissions node 118. Permissions node 118 can senda message (614) to wireless device 102 indicating that permission is notgranted, or that the decision has been postponed, or some variation orcombination thereof.

Wireless device 104 can later grant or deny permission for wirelessdevice 102 to connect with access point 106 (616). When wireless device104 grants the requested permission to wireless device 102, message(616) indicates to permissions node 118 that the requested permission isgranted, and the permissions node 118 provides an indication (618) towireless device 102 that permission is granted to connect with accesspoint 106.

Wireless device 102 can then connection request (620) to access point106 upon receiving the indication that the connection is permitted,whereupon a connection (622) can be established between wireless device102 and access point 106, and access point 106 can facilitatecommunication (624) with data network 108.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary processing node 700 comprisingcommunication interface 702, user interface 704, and processing system706 in communication with communication interface 702 and user interface704. One example of processing node 700 is permissions node 118illustrated in FIG. 1 and described above. Communication interface 702enables processing node 700 to communicate with other network elements.User interface 704 permits processing node 700 to provide informationand to receive inputs to configure and control the operation of theprocessing node 700.

Processing system 706 further comprises storage 708 and software 710,and may include a processor and other circuitry to retrieve and executesoftware 710 from storage 708. Storage 708 comprises a disk drive, flashdrive, memory circuitry, or other memory device. Storage 708 can storesoftware 710 which is used in the operation of the processing node 700.Software 710 may include an operating system, utilities, drivers,network interfaces, applications, or some other type of machine-readableinstructions.

Some or all of the actions performed by the exemplary embodimentsdescribed herein can be performed under the control of a computer systemexecuting computer-readable codes embedded on a computer-readablerecording medium or on communication signals transmitted through atransitory medium. The computer-readable recording medium may includeany data storage device that can store data which can thereafter be readby a computer system. Examples of the computer-readable recording mediuminclude, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), random-accessmemory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and optical datastorage devices. The computer-readable recording medium can also bedistributed over network-coupled computer systems so that thecomputer-readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.The communication signals transmitted through a transitory medium mayinclude, for example, signals which modulate carrier waves transmittedthrough wired or wireless transmission paths.

The above description and associated figures teach the best mode of theinvention. The following claims specify the scope of the invention. Notethat some aspects of the best mode may not fall within the scope of theinvention as specified by the claims. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the features described above can be combined in variousways to form multiple variations of the invention. As a result, theinvention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above,but only by the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling a connection between awireless device and an access point, comprising: determining, by apermission node, that a first wireless device is not authorized toconnect to an access point of a first data network, wherein thepermission node part of a cellular network different from the first datanetwork; transferring a message from the permission node to a secondwireless device over the cellular network requesting permission for thefirst wireless device to connect to the access point; and receiving amessage from the second wireless device over the cellular networkgranting the first wireless device permission to connect to the accesspoint, wherein the access point is added to a list of permitted accesspoints associated with the first wireless device.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein determining further comprises receiving a message from thefirst wireless device at a permissions node of the cellular network todetermine whether the first wireless device is authorized to connect tothe access point.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a messagefurther comprises receiving a message from the second wireless device atthe permissions node to grant the first wireless device permission toconnect to the access point.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein receivinga message further comprises receiving a message from the second wirelessdevice at the permissions node to grant the first wireless devicepermission to connect to the access point.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein receiving a message further comprises receiving a message fromthe second wireless device at the first wireless device to grant thefirst wireless device permission to connect to the access point.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein receiving a message further comprisesreceiving a first message from the second wireless device postponingpermission to connect to the access point and receiving a second messagefrom the second wireless device at a later time granting the firstwireless device permission to connect to the access point.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein receiving a message further comprises receiving amessage from the second wireless device at the first wireless device togrant the first wireless device limited permission to connect to theaccess point such that the permission is limited by one of a timeperiod, a total amount of data transferred to the first wireless device,and an application running on the first wireless device.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein the first data network comprises a wireless localarea network and the permission node connected to the cellular networkstores permissions for the access point connected to the wireless localarea network.
 9. The method of claim 3, wherein the permissions nodesends a message to the first wireless device indicating that the firstwireless device has permission to connect to the access point based onthe message from the second wireless device.
 10. A processing node of acommunication system for controlling a connection between a wirelessdevice and an access point, configured to: determine that a firstwireless device is not authorized to connect to an access point of afirst data network, wherein the processing node is part of a cellularnetwork different from the first data network; transfer a message to asecond wireless device over the cellular network requesting permissionfor the first wireless device to connect to the access point; receivemessage from the second wireless device over the cellular networkgranting the first wireless device permission to connect to the accesspoint; and send a message to the first wireless device to add the accesspoint to a list of permitted access points.
 11. The processing node ofclaim 10, further configured to determine that the first wireless deviceis not authorized to connect to an access point of the first datanetwork based on a message from the first wireless device over thecellular network.
 12. The processing node of claim 10, furtherconfigured to transfer the message requesting permission from the firstwireless device to the second wireless device.
 13. The processing nodeof claim 10, further configured to transfer the message requestingpermission for the first wireless device to connect to the access pointfrom the processing node to the second wireless device.
 14. Theprocessing node of claim 10, further configured to: receive a messagefrom the second wireless device to grant the first wireless devicepermission to connect to the access point; and send a message to thefirst wireless device indicating that the first wireless device haspermission to connect to the access point based on the message from thesecond wireless device.
 15. The processing node of claim 10, furtherconfigured to add the access point to a list of permitted access pointsassociated with the first wireless device based on the message receivedfrom the second wireless device.
 16. The processing node of claim 10,further configured to receive a first message from the second wirelessdevice postponing permission to connect to the access point andreceiving a second message from the second wireless device at a latertime granting the first wireless device permission to connect to theaccess point.
 17. The processing node of claim 10, wherein receiving amessage further comprises receiving a message from the second wirelessdevice at the first wireless device to grant the first wireless devicelimited permission to connect to the access point such that thepermission is limited by one of a time period, a total amount of datatransferred to the first wireless device, and an application running onthe first wireless device.
 18. The processing node of claim 10, whereinthe first data network comprises a wireless local area network and theprocessing node connected to the cellular network stores permissions forthe access point connected to the wireless local area network.